After two floats in last year’s Spanish Town Parade caused controversy and offended some because of their stab at seemingly racist humor, organizers of the parade have posted a message of inclusiveness on their Facebook page.
The message was posted late Thursday, and reminds participants and revelers that “amid a downpour of glitter and beads, the parade is only a few hours where one has the opportunity to celebrate the mutual pleasures of the flesh and commiserate over the mutual pain of politics in a safe and respectful environment.”
Though the post does not allude to the 2016 parade specifically, it’s clearly a reference to the #PinkLivesMatter float, which was a parody of the Black Lives Matter movement, and to the #FlamingoLivesMatter float, which depicted a flamingo with a sign around its neck reading “I can’t breathe.” The sign was a reference to 43-year-old Eric Garner, who died after being placed in a chokehold by New York City police officers.
The Facebook post was actually penned by members of the Prancing Babycakes, a popular marching krewe that has been a mainstay of the Spanish Town Parade since 2008. Prancing Babycakes members say they were seriously considering dropping out of the parade this year, but changed their mind after meeting recently with parade organizers and a member of the krewe that created last year’s offensive floats to discuss their concerns.
“I thought it was really brave of that person to come and meet with us face to face,” says Prancing Babycakes organizer Erin Rolfs. “They understand now that it caused some pain for people so I think that conversation was really critical to us feeling comfortable … and when the Babycakes came out of that discussion they felt a lot better about understanding where everybody came from.”
Rolfs says in the meeting her members asked the Spanish Town Parade board to share the statement of inclusiveness, which was posted late Thursday to the parade’s Facebook page.
“We think it will help maintain the spirit of Spanish Town, the reason we joined and what everyone loves about it,” she says. “We are over the moon. We’re so proud of them for posting it because I know this has been hard.”
This year’s Spanish Town Parade will be held Saturday, Feb. 25.
—Stephanie Riegel
